


A (not so) disastrous first date

by LightsUpInTheNorth



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Post-Season/Series 03, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24894253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightsUpInTheNorth/pseuds/LightsUpInTheNorth
Summary: Ever since he’s been discharged from the hospital, Billy goes to Family Video every day. Well, every day it is open, that is. And he doesn’t do it for the movies. Not really. He does it for Steve Harrington.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 10
Kudos: 100





	A (not so) disastrous first date

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I'm in a fluff mood apparently, so here is a fluffy ficlet! I hope you'll like it :)

“Dingus, haven’t you noticed something weird?” Robin asks as they are shelving the returned tapes of the day.

“Mh… What? No… What?” Steve replies, as eloquent as ever.

“Billy rented The Shining.”

“Yeah… and so?”

Steve doesn’t see anything weird about that. Not that he has watched it, but it is supposedly a good movie, why wouldn’t Billy rent it?

“Well, it’s the third time he rents it.” Robin informs, frowning.

“And…? Maybe he really likes it.”

“It’s the third time, _in two weeks_ , Steve.”

“Oh… okay… so that’s kind of weird.” He admits.

“That’s all you’ve got to say?”

“Yes…?”

What does she want Steve to say? If Billy wants to obsessively watch some creepy horror movie, it is none of Steve’s business.

“Okay. Nevermind.” Robin replies, before pointing out: “you placed that tape upside down.”

Oh… he did.

-

Billy is about to snap. Ever since he’s been discharged from the hospital, he goes to Family Video every day. Well, every day it is open, that is. And he doesn’t do it for the movies. Not really. He does it for Steve Harrington.

At first, he doesn’t say much. He just goes there in an overlarge hoodie, picks a random movie and proceeds to stare at Steve for as long as he can without it becoming suspicious. Then, he hightails out of there and goes back to his flat.

But then, he starts dropping hints. He rents the same movie several times, he tries to say more than two words to Steve, he starts wearing nice shirts (fully buttoned, but still) and fancy cologne. And none of it does anything, except maybe make Steve’s coworker look at him in assessment. Her attention isn’t the one Billy was looking for, but that’s what you get when you go after the most clueless person ever, he supposes. Because, either Steve really is that clueless, or he purposefully ignores Billy’s cues. And Billy prefers not to think of the second option at all. If he does start thinking about it, he’ll realize how it makes more sense than Steve not understanding what Billy is getting at, considering King Steve has had more conquests than someone clueless would ever have.

It doesn’t matter, anyway. Billy has come to a decision. He’s got to talk to Steve, lest he explode and do something even stupider than confessing his attraction… Like grab Steve by his ugly green Family Video jacket (in which he still manages to look infuriatingly handsome) and plant one on him.

Billy is going to man up, be a functioning member of society or whatever, and politely ask for what he wants. If it goes wrong, it’s not that big a deal: Billy has very little dignity left to lose.

So, the next time he enters Family Video, making the bell above the door jingle and Steve and Robin look up from their respective tasks, Billy doesn’t even pretend he came here for a movie. He bypasses the shelves and goes straight to the counter, behind which stands a surprised Steve Harrington.

“Can I help you?” He asks, his wide eyes fixed on Billy.

Billy has to look down to actually get the words out, Steve’s intense staring making him squirm.

“Would you… go on a date… with me?”

“You… wait, what? You want me to go on a date… with you?”

Billy looks up briefly, annoyed that Steve needs a confirmation even though Billy couldn’t have made his invitation any clearer. Steve’s eyes got even wider, which Billy wouldn’t have thought possible. He softens a fraction.

“Yes, pretty boy. ‘s what I said, innit?”

“Uh… sure… yeah, I’ll go with you.” Steve stammers.

He still hasn’t blinked a single time, and his tone is stinted. Should Billy be worried? Steve doesn’t really sound enthusiastic for someone who just agreed to go on a date. He makes it seem like he’s agreeing to a dentist appointment, or something. Flattering, really.

“Are you sure about that?” Billy asks, narrowing his eyes.

Sure, he really wants that date with Steve, but only if Steve’s a hundred percent in too. He doesn’t want him to agree to it just to spare the feelings of the guy who nearly died saving one of his kids. If that’s what Steve is trying to do.

“Yeah, yeah… I’m sure. Honest.” Steve assures.

Billy still isn’t convinced, but he leaves it at that in favor of asking when Steve is available. He knows the guy’s schedule by heart, by now, but he doesn’t keep track of all the time Steve spends with the nerds and his coworker/friend.

When the actual date comes, a few days later, Steve doesn’t seem any more enthusiastic than when Billy asked him out. If anything, he looks more reluctant.

He barely says anything on the whole way to the diner, and once they reach their destination, he lets Billy do most of the talking and only gives one-word answers. And talking is still hard for Billy after the whole near-death experience, so he had kind of expected Steve would be the one leading the conversation.

Because, as far as he knows, Steve is talkative. A real chatterbox. He’s often bantering with Robin when Billy comes into Family Video, and whenever he drops Max off somewhere and sees Steve with Dustin, they always seem to be having some kind of rapid-fire conversation. So him being silent must mean he’s really uncomfortable in Billy’s presence. That’s quite the bummer.

“Why did you say yes?” Billy ends up asking out of the blue, unable to take one more second of the awkward silence surrounding their table.

“What…?”

“To the date… why did you say yes?”

“Because… I wanted to?”

Steve’s questioning tone is like a sucker punch to the gut.

“Are you asking me?” Billy snaps.

“No, of course not! I’m just surprised you’re asking… what other reason would I have?”

Steve’s eyebrows are knitted, making him look confused. But Billy’s the one confused, here, alright?

“Well, you tell me. You’ve been looking like you’d rather be anywhere else ever since I picked you up… It doesn’t scream that you’re a willing participant in this date, princess.” Billy mumbles, pushing his now cold fries around his plate.

He feels one of Steve’s feet nudging his leg under the table and startles before relaxing.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to come off like that. I swear I agreed wholeheartedly… It’s just…” Steve apparently can’t finish the thought and heaves a sigh.

“It’s just what?”

Couldn’t he spit it out already? Billy is on the edge of his seat, there.

“I’m… uh… Promise not to laugh?”

Billy rolls his eyes.

“I promise, pretty boy. Now please tell me what it’s all about.”

“I’m really nervous.”

Billy doesn’t laugh. He doesn’t feel like laughing, at all. He does stare for a long while, though. His jaw has dropped, and it takes Billy several seconds to recover enough from the surprise to close his mouth. Steve “The Hair” Harrington… King Steve… is nervous to go on a date… with Billy? Billy who has no friends, scars all over his body, and only goes out of his flat to get groceries, go to therapy, and rent random tapes at Family Video? It sounds surreal.

“See, that’s ridiculous.” Steve says, fidgeting with the straw from his untouched chocolate milkshake.

“Hey, no. I can’t say I saw that coming, but I don’t think it’s ridiculous, okay? I wish you had said something earlier.”

Billy would love to take Steve’s shaking hands in his to steady them, steady him, but they’re in public so that will have to wait.

“I didn’t want to be a burden… I mean… you went through so much, and you had no problem asking me out… whereas I’m just a mess… I haven’t been on a date in ages… ever since Nancy really, and I really like you, I didn’t want to mess this up… I didn’t want you to realize I was lame… and I ended up messing it up even more. I’m sorry.”

Steve was speaking quite fast, in a voice almost too low to be heard. And, damn, there was a lot to unpack here. Billy didn’t know where to start.

“Don’t apologize, it’s fine. You’re not a mess, and you’re not lame, and you didn’t mess anything up. We’re still here, right? This date isn’t over.”

“Really?” Steve asked, looking up tentatively from his milkshake.

“Really. Oh and, Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“I was a nervous wreck when I asked you out, so don’t go thinking I had “no problem” doing it.”

Billy wouldn’t usually admit that, fearing it could make him look weak. But Steve has been honest with him, so it’s only right to do the same in return.

“Really?” Steve asks again.

“Really” Billy confirms again.

Steve smiles at him, and finally takes a sip of his milkshake. When Billy kisses him on his doorstep later in the evening, he can taste the chocolate on Steve’s tongue, and thinks that this first date wasn’t so bad, in the end.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr: https://lightsupinthenorth.tumblr.com/ come talk to me about the boys, or whatever else ah ah ;)


End file.
